planetdanika

This coming weekend marks one of the biggest races in the trail running world, The Western States Endurance Run. It’s one of the most grueling and challenging races out there; 100 miles up and down the Sierra Nevada mountains on rugged trails. Yikes. The thought of it has me shaking in my muddy mizunos. This race is WAY out of my league. Nonetheless, I know a few folks who are running it and find the whole thing fascinating. I stumbled across one guy’s chronicles of his training and race experience for his local paper. His blog has 6 posts in the series so far. Check out Part 1, “Journey of 100 miles” and Part 6, “A Moveable Feast”. Some points he touches on that resonated for me: 1) yes, 99.9% of people think ultra-runners are crazy. This fact hit home last weekend when I was called “psychotic” and “sick” after recounting my latest ultra adventure. But really, it’s such a great community of people that I’m thrilled to have plugged into this past year or so. And do I look psychotic to you? (Feel free not to answer that). 2) the sheer number of calories needed by your body to finish one of these races is incredible. And damn, PB&J never tastes so good as it does after a long race. I read recently that some of these guys consume 2 gels (100 calories each) per hour throughout a 100-mile race, or something like 40-60 gels to help them get to a total of 12,000 calories!

I’ll be running the lowly Seafair marathon this weekend (I AM registering today), but will be cheering on all the brave folks who even attempt this race. In particular, I’m pushing for Brian Morrison, one of my coaches for last year’s 50K, and a bit of a legend in the ultra-running world. Go, Brian!

El Mundo
As D just mentioned. Summer is here. Barbecues, ribs, making ice cream, walking the town. All these things and more this weekend.

OK, so it’s not that hot, but summer has FINALLY arrived in Seattle. Last night we attended the first barbeque of the year. In keeping with the season, I made a strawberry rhubarb crumble and fresh ginger ice cream. Both came out well, and will likely get repeated around here. I’ve become too lazy to make pie crusts, so crumbles/crisps will be more likely to appear on my table this summer. These recipes are great together, but both would stand alone very well too.

Strawberry-Rhubarb Crumble
adapted from Smitten Kitchen

note: I did 1 1/2 times the recipe and filled a 9×13 pan. I added a heaping 1/4 t of ground ginger to the topping. Next time I’ll add a bit more as the flavor wasn’t very noticeable.

For the topping:
1 1/3 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons Demerara sugar (or turbinado sugar, or Sugar in the Raw)
Zest of one lemon
1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

For the filling:
1 1/2 cups rhubarb, chopped into 1-inch pieces
1 quart strawberries plus a few extras, hulled, quartered
Juice of one lemon
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
Pinch of salt

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Prepare topping: In a mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, sugars and lemon zest and add the melted butter. Mix until small and large clumps form. Refrigerate until needed.
2. Prepare filling: Toss rhubarb, strawberries, lemon juice, sugar, flour and pinch of salt in a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate. (I used an oval dish this time, because they fit better in the bottom of a shopping bag.)
3. Remove topping from refrigerator and cover fruit thickly and evenly with topping. Place pie plate on a (foil-lined, if you really want to think ahead) baking sheet, and bake until crumble topping is golden brown in places and fruit is bubbling beneath, about 40 to 50 minutes.

Yield: 6 to 8 servings.

Fresh Ginger Ice Cream
From: The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz
Makes about 1 quart

3 ounces of unpeeled ginger
1 cup whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
3/4 sugar
Pinch of salt
5 large egg yolks

Cut ginger into thin slices. Place the ginger in a medium, nonreactive saucepan. Add enough water to cover the ginger by about 1/2 inch and bring to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes, then drain, discarding the liquid.

Return the blanched ginger slices to the saucepan, then add the milk, 1 cup of cream, sugar and salt. Warm the mixture, cover and remove from the heat. Let steep at room temperature for 1 hour.

Rewarm the mixture. Remove the ginger slices with a slotted spoon and discard. Pour the remaining cup of cream into a large bowl and set a mesh strainer on top.

In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.

Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. Pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into cream. Stir until cool over an ice bath.

Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze it in your ice maker according to instructions.